The Artist and the Actress
by Taylor Dixon
Summary: Since high school, Travis hasn't had any luck with the ladies but, when Jones' old friend from Plymouth moves into the loft with them, Travis can't help but have a crush on her. Derrick tries to make a move on her but she is only interested in the shy artist. Can their love for each other work out despite being in separate classes, their shyness, and Derrick getting in the way?


**Got bored at school and this is the result. First Gossip fanfic so please be nice. Please R&R.**

Travis groaned and rolled over on his bed as he heard a knock on his door and Jones yelling at him to get up. With a sigh he rolled on to his side and picked up his clock on the bedside table to look at the time. 8:30. Jones opened the door and stepped inside of her roommate's bedroom without asking. Travis sat up and propped himself on his elbows as Jones flipped the light switch, illuminating the room. Travis glanced behind Jones and at Derrick as he walked up behind her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's 8:30 on a _Saturday, _Jones. Why'd you wake us up?" Travis complained to the curly-haired brunette after a yawn.

"Remember? One of my old friends from high school is transferring to our college and coming to live with us today." answered Jones excitedly as she turned to face Derrick, his short brown hair was messy and sticking up unevenly.

"Why do we need another roommate? I like it when it's just the three of us." whined Derrick, Travis rolled his eyes at Derrick's question, he was acting like a five-year old.

After all, the new roommate would be a girl and when she arrived Travis was sure that Derrick would shut up and try to flirt with her like he did to all the other girls he had met. Travis already knew that he wouldn't even have the smallest chance with the new girl. When he was in high school he'd learned that nobody liked nerdy and artsy guys with mismatched clothes and shy personalities. His thoughts were interrupted by Jones.

"Derrick! She agreed to pay rent like the rest of us. She'll sleep in the empty room next to Travis' room. After all, she has nowhere else to stay..." stated Jones, trailing off. She quickly added, "It'll also put a stop to the rumors that I'm sleeping with both of you."

Derrick mumbled as he headed back to his room to change, "Fine. She can stay with us."

Jones stated to Travis before she walked out of his room to let him change, "She'll be here in half an hour so get ready."

"Whatever," Travis mumbled under his breath as he got out of bed and headed over to his closet. He was nervous to meet the new girl and he wasn't very social or lucky with the ladies so he just dreaded the woman's arrival even more.

* * *

Derrick looked up from his cup of coffee and at Travis who was walking down the stairs.

"You're just in time, Trav," he said as he glanced over at the clock on the wall, "She'll be here in a couple of minutes."

Travis just sighed and plopped down on the couch on the opposite side of Derrick. He heard footsteps behind him and he peered over the couch to see Jones pacing back and forth in front of the door. He sat there in silence for a few seconds, cleaning the dry yellow paint from under his nails.

"What's her name?" he asked thoughtfully as he thought of Jones' friend.

"Lutessa Callies," replied Jones simply as she continued to pace back and forth, her hazel eyes darting over to the door every few seconds, anticipating her friend's arrival.

Travis mumbled the name to himself a few times as he continued to clean his nails. All three of their heads snapped up as there was a knock on the door. Jones was quick to rush forward and yank open the door.

* * *

Lutessa struggled to drag her two suitcases and backpack up the stairs. Jones had called her last night and said that the loft they lived in was on the top floor of the building. After five minutes of struggling, Lutessa stood in front of a door that led to the right loft. She set her suitcases down and dug around in her pocket of her jacket for a piece of paper. When she had found the small strip of the notebook paper she looked down at the address her old friend had given her. She made sure that she was at the right place before sucking in a deep breath and knocking on the door. Lutessa looked up as the door swung open, revealing a woman her age with curly brown hair that went down to her chin and hazel eyes.

"Tess!" cried out Jones as she stepped forward and hugged her friend, catching her by surprise.

"Hey, Cathy," replied Lutessa as she embraced her best friend.

Jones stepped back and grabbed Lutessa's suitcases, setting them next to the doorway so Lutessa could get them later. Jones grabbed Lutessa by her wrist and pulled her over to a man who looked to be a year older than her so he was around 23 years old. He had brown hair and light blue eyes and he was wearing a dark gray v-neck underneath a black coat.

"Derrick, this is Lutessa. Lutessa, this is my roommate Derrick," said Jones as she grinned at the two of them.

Derrick held out his hand and Lutessa reached out and shook his hand with a small smile.

"Please, call me Tess. I don't like being called Lutessa," said Lutessa as she took a step away from Derrick.

Tess glanced over at Jones who had a hold of her wrist again and she turned around to the other roommate that lived with her friend. A man stared back at her in shock. He looked to be around Derrick's age and he had a small goatee and dark brown hair that was couple inches longer than Derrick's. He had piercing blue eyes and was wearing light gray coveralls and a cord around his neck which she assumed was a necklace. _He's kinda cute_ thought Lutessa as she looked him up and down.

"Tess, meet Travis," said Jones as she glanced back and forth from the two.

"H-hi. I'm Travis," stuttered the man in front of Lutessa.

"I'm Tessa... nice to meet you, Travis," replied Tess after a few seconds of staring at him.

Travis gawked at the woman who stood before him, his mouth hung open a little in astonishment. Lutessa had big hazel eyes and wavy chocolate-brown hair that went just past her shoulder blades. Her cheekbones were very prominent against her fair-toned skin. She was wearing a tight black tank-top underneath a button up purple shirt that was plaid and she had a hole in the knee of her jeans. She was wearing black converse all-stars and had a black hair-tie on her left wrist. He watched as she tore her eyes from him and looked around the place.

Lutessa was amazed by how large the space was. It was a lot bigger than any loft or penthouse she had seen before and it was two levels. The whole room was painted with bright and vivid colors and rusty iron pillars stretched up to the high ceiling. There was thick wire banisters and lots of windows to let in light. There was also a staircase that led to an open window, letting her know that they had roof access as well.

The living room where a few chairs, a couch, and an entertainment center complete with a television was on a raised platform. There was a full bar behind that with a retro 1950's fridge and there was a large chandelier in the kitchen. As she gazed around the room she noticed that there was also a desk and hand-made sculptures were scattered about the large space. Lutessa thought that all the bright and unique decor was pretty and stylish.

"Derrick and I share the loft. There's an empty room next to Travis' room. You can stay there," explained Jones with a smile as she watched her friend gaze around the apartment in awe.

Lutessa only turned around and nodded to her friend, she was too amazed to speak. After all, this was the nicest place she had ever been in.

"Hey, Travis. Can you show Tess to her room while I get us some breakfast?" asked Jones as she walked over to the kitchen.

"Sure," replied Travis softly, looking over at his new roommate.

Tess turned around and grabbed her suitcases before she walked over to Travis. She gave him a shy smile and he ducked his head so she couldn't see his cheeks turn scarlet.

"Follow me," he mumbled quietly as he walked across the room towards three doors. Travis pointed to the door on the far left and stated, "That's the bathroom," he added as he motioned to the yellow door in the middle, "and that's my room."

He grabbed the handle of the door next to his and twisted it, pulling it open for Lutessa. Tessa stepped in the room, followed by Travis. She spun around in a circle, taking in the large room. It was bigger than her parents' master bedroom and had more furniture than her room at her house back in Plymouth.

The walls were a light gray and there was a window above the bed in the corner of the room. A wood dresser was against the wall on the left side of the room and a nightstand stood next to the bed. A desk occupied the other corner of the room next to the door and it had a computer on it and a large chair with big cushions was in front of it. There was also a small couch against the wall on the right side of the door and a bookshelf full of books that she hadn't read before.

"I can paint it a different color for you... I mean, if you want me to," said Travis softly as he watched Tessa explore the room with an amused look on his face.

Tess turned around to face him and replied with a small and shy smile, "Thanks, Travis. We should do that sometime."

Travis leaned against the door frame and blushed, ducking his head down in embarrassment. He didn't expect Lutessa to agree with him or even _consider _painting the walls _with _him. When she turned her back on him for just a few seconds, Travis slipped away.

Tess set her backpack on the bed and placed her two suitcases beside it, she had a lot of unpacking ahead of her that day. Tessa sighed and turned around to go back into the living room so she could get more of her things from the movers truck. She noticed that Travis had left her room and she wondered where he had gone for a moment before proceeding to the living room.

"Hey, Tess! Do you want Cheerios or something else?" called out Jones as she was preparing their meals in the kitchen.

"Um... sure. I'll have Cheerios. I gotta go get my things." replied Lutessa as she pointed to the door. She had only taken three steps towards the exit when Derrick stopped her.

"Hey, wait up. I'll help you," offered Derrick as he dashed towards the door.

"Thanks," replied Tess with a relieved smile, she was glad that she didn't have to lug up all the cardboard boxes filled with her belongings up the flights of stairs.

Tessa tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and put her hands in her pockets as she waited for Derrick to catch up with her. When he had reached the door he opened it and let Tessa exit first, he was trying to be a gentleman to her and have a good first impression. They walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace next to each other.

"So, you're from Plymouth as well, right?" asked Derrick curiously as he looked over at his new roommate.

"Yeah. That's where Jones and I went to high school," answered Tessa as she glanced over at him. She quickly added, "And I am _not _a pilgrim so don't get started on that."

"Oh, Jones told you about that, huh?" she nodded. "I just love how annoyed she get when I bug her about it," added Derrick with a grin.

"She's _very_ protective of her hometown. She's always been like that." replied Tessa.

Derrick sighed as they reached ground-level and he stepped ahead of Tess to open the door for her. She smiled at Derrick and stepped outside, squinting in the sunlight. Derrick walked towards the U-haul truck next to Lutessa and he jumped in to the box truck and headed over to the small stack of cardboard boxes against the wall. He grabbed two boxes and held them out to Tessa, who wrapped her arms around them and backed up as Derrick grabbed another two boxes for himself, leaving two of them in the truck. He jumped to the ground and was to careful to not damage the contents inside of the boxes.

"Thanks for helping me," said Lutessa as she and Derrick headed back inside of the building.

"No problem. Anything for a friend," responded Derrick as he leaned against the door and let Tessa in the building first.

Tess smiled to herself, he and Travis seemed friendly, just like Jones said to her when she called yesterday. Derrick looked Lutessa up and down as they walked up the stairs, she was pretty and he liked her.

"My dad doesn't know you're living with us right now so, your first month is free," stated Derrick.

"Really?" asked Tessa in surprise, she didn't believe he was saying that.

"Yeah. It isn't a problem," he confirmed.

"Thank you so much, Derrick," said Tess with a huge smile on her face.

"You're welcome,"

Lutessa entered the apartment, a grin on her face, closely followed by Derrick. Jones looked up from her bowl of cereal and at the two who had just entered the room. She saw Tessa smiling and thought to herself proudly, _she's getting along just fine. _Derrick and Tess went into her room and placed the boxes on the floor before exiting and returning to the kitchen.

Derrick called over to Lutessa as he headed out the door, "I'll get the other boxes for you, Tess!"

"Thanks!" she called back

Tessa strode over to the kitchen counter where Jones was scraping eggs on to three plates. She leaned against the counter, her elbows on the marble counter top and her head was in her hands. Tess glanced over at the couch and saw Travis glaring at Derrick. She didn't know why so she just ignored it and turned back around to face Jones. Jones glanced up and smiled at her friend, pushing the bowls of cereal away from her.

"Do you like it here?" she asked curiously, copying Tessa's pose.

Lutessa nodded, "I love it... I thought you said that Derrick wasn't a gentleman."

Jones chuckled and replied, "Oh he's not. He just wants to make a good first impression... and he likes you," she added.

Tess groaned and mumbled, "Oh god..."

Jones only laughed at her reaction and when Travis overheard them, he smirked to himself. After a couple of minutes, Derrick had put the other two boxes in Lutessa's room and joined the rest of them in the living room. Derrick sat on the couch on the left side and Travis scooted over so he was on the far right side, leaving space in the middle. Jones grabbed two bowls of cereal and Tess grabbed the other two.

Tessa followed Jones over to the raised platform where Travis and Derrick were already sitting down. Jones handed Derrick his bowl and sat down beside him on the couch. Tessa looked down at Travis and her heart fluttered as his ocean blue eyes met hers. She held out his breakfast and he grabbed it with both of his hands, his fingers brushing hers. Tess paused for a moment until Jones nodded to the space on the couch beside her, signaling her to sit down next to her. Tess sat down, her arm brushed Travis' arm which sent a shiver up her spine. She had a few spoonfuls of her cereal and realized how hungry she really was.

"So, Tess... Jones told you me you're an actress," stated Derrick after swallowing his food.

"Um... yeah, I am. So what?" asked Tessa, she didn't look up from her food while he spoke.

"I was wondering if we could get a performance or a little skit or play from you. Something like that..." Derrick trailed off, staring into his bowl of Cheerios.

"No. Just, no," replied Tess, shaking her head as she looked over at Derrick.

"Why not?" asked Derrick, sounding a little offended.

"I... just don't want to today." answered Tessa after a sigh.

She leaned back against the couch cushion and continued to eat her breakfast. Derrick was about to keep bugging her and ask why but, Jones hit him to make him stop. When Tess had finished her breakfast, she stood up and headed over to the sink. She washed the bowl and rinsed off the spoon before going into her room. She had a long day of unpacking ahead of her.


End file.
